The Complications of a Vegas Wedding
by ThatGuyYouKnew
Summary: My take on Blood Brandy's Vegas Vacation Challenge. Waking up hungover sucks, but waking up hungover and married? Life just got even more complicated for Harry Potter.
1. The Morning After

**Name:Harry Potter's Vegas Vacation Challenge issued by Blood Brandy**

**Category:** Harry Potter & DC Comics and/or Animated Universe (Because I like DC)

A little idea I had.

Sirius fakes his own death (Hey, if a rat like Pettigrew can do it on his own, why can't Sirius when he can enlist pretty much anyone in the order to help?), and has his will enacted, emancipating Harry for one good reason.

To send Harry to Las Vegas (With Moony as a 'responsible' chaperone).

With fake muggle ID in hand (Perhaps a glamor or two), the two take to the town. But in true Hangover fashion, Harry has too much to drink and blacks out, waking up a day or two later...with a wedding ring.

**Requirements:**

-Harry has to go to Las Vegas, Nevada (If you want, you can do a Fem!Harry instead)

-Moony has to travel with him as chaperone (If you do Fem!Harry, you either have to have a Fem!Remus, or choose McGonagall or Tonks as chaperone)

-Harry has to get married to a super, Villain or hero is your choice, but has no memory of the wedding.

-He does NOT get a divorce for whatever reason (Wife talks him out of it, he really falls for her, magically binding, whatever reason you want)

-Magical law is different outside Europe to allow for Magical Supers

-Harry wakes up with no idea where Moony (Or Fem!Harry's chaperone) is, but his wife says (s)he was at the wedding.

-Harry's wife was completely (or at least mostly) sober when they were married

-Harry gets married by an Elvis impersonator

-The Potter Luck strikes, Harry, while drunk, won a LOT of money at the casinos, and is in a comp-ed room when he wakes up.

-The Potter Luck strikes again, Harry and his wife have to fight someone before they even leave Vegas, and win quickly thanks to Harry

**Forbidden:**

-No Slash for Harry(Nothing against Homosexuals, but it seems a lot of HP/DC crossovers are guy on guy)

**Recommended:**

-Takes Place either in August of fifth year, or during winter break, which I think would be easiest to work it in

-The Statute of Secrecy was signed in before the Revolutionary War (Which is true, according to HP wiki it was signed in 1692), so it at least doesn't apply/isn't enforced in America outside the 13 original colonies or not at all in America.

-Harry's wife should probably be at least aware of magic

-Remus (Or Fem!Harry's chaperone) gets drunkenly married

-Probably easiest to stick with one wife, but if you can make more work, I won't stop you.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The first girl pops into my head for this is either Raven or Jinx from Teen Titans. Zatanna would probably be easy, but maybe too easy.

* * *

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own anything concerning the rights to anything you might recognize. If I did, Harry would have never ended up with a flippin' _fangirl_.

**Author's note:**

This is a story based on _Blood Brandy_'s Vegas Vacation Challenge. I stumbled on it a while back and had a few bits in mind for when I did decide to start it, but never really had the motivation to do it. Unfortunately, my muse for _The Next Great Adventure_ decided to run away for a while and left me with a couple of her sisters as a distraction, one of which is this one.

In fact, there were times where I've been forced to get up in the middle of the night just to write a small scene that refused to leave me alone until it was in print. I'm not sure how often this particular project will be updated, seeing as what story I'm currently working on is at the whims of forces greater than myself, but I promise that none of my stories are being abandoned.

The **_only_** requirement that _Blood Brandy_ set that I didn't use was the fact that whomever Harry married was sober the entire night. I honestly thought it would be more amusing to have them both trying to puzzle out what they had done separately.

Seeing as I've had quite a few problems from my other stories, I'm going to say this now:

**THERE WILL BE CHANGES TO CANON!**

You all have no idea how many messages I've gotten telling me that I should stop writing anything because I change stuff. It's my story, and I'll change what I need to suit the story. If you don't like it, tough. No one's putting a gun to your head and forcing you to read this.

**Sidenote:**

If anyone wants to do a 'Remus Lupin's Tour of Vegas' story, let me know. I'd definitely like to read it!

**Publish Date:** Aug. 22nd, 2013

**Update Date:** N/A

* * *

**Chapter One**

The Morning After

_**JUNE 18th**_

Harry landed in Dumbledore's office and immediately, somehow, ended sprawled out across the floor. He didn't get up right away, preferring to just lie there for a moment. His godfather was dead.

Sirius was dead.

That thought didn't really have time to register before Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace, saying, "Harry, I know how you must feel at the moment, but there are things we need to discuss, and time is of the essence."

Harry sighed tiredly and climbed to his feet, wiping his face and taking a deep breath. He still couldn't believe his godfather was gone. He flopped down in a chair across from the aging headmaster's desk, silently waiting for Dumbledore to speak.

The Headmaster walked to his cabinet behind his desk and pulled out a stone bowl, setting it gingerly on the desk between Harry and himself before sitting down and opening a drawer and pulling out a small vial filled with a silvery fluid and a letter. As he was doing this he spoke, "This is called a pensieve. It allows the user to view memories, either their own or someone else's." He handed the letter to Harry and said, "Read that first, then take a look at this memory. I promise you that you will feel much better afterward."

Harry numbly took the letter and opened it, his eyes widening at seeing his own handwriting.

_To Myself,_

_I know what you're probably thinking, but you- I- Exactly what pronoun are you supposed to use when you write a letter to yourself? Things aren't so bad. I know it seems like it is, but it isn't. Seriously. Anyway, Sirius faked his death, with the help of Dumbledore, Remus, and me. You. This is confusing, So I'll just state the facts._

_Sirius isn't dead._

_We agreed to be oblivated so the plan wasn't at risk._

_We don't have to go back to the Dursley's. Ever._

_Take a look at the memory I- You- We provided and you'll have your proof. And no, this isn't some sick joke. Marauder's Honor._

_Harry Potter. Yourself. Myself._

Harry looked up at Dumbledore, who just nodded and pointed at the stone bowl in front of him, saying, "Simply stick your face in the pensieve, Harry, and you'll have more proof."

Harry just nodded in reply, not saying anything and followed the instructions. After a brief and slightly disorienting feeling of falling, Harry landed in the Black Library.

* * *

_**CHRISTMAS BREAK, 5th YEAR**_

Harry just stared, slack-jawed, at his godfather before saying, "You can't seriously be serious, Sirius."

Sirius Black grinned widely and replied, "I'm quite seriously serious."

Harry shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around this insanity. Insane even for his godfather, which was saying quite a bit. "Seriously?"

Somehow, his godfather's grin grew even wider. "A grim kind of serious. Seriously."

Harry just stared at his godfather for a moment, waiting for the inevitable 'got you!' to happen. After a moment, Harry gave in and realized that Sirius really was serious. He dropped into his chair numbly and muttered, "You're seriously serious."

His godfather preened and puffed out his chest and replied, "Of course I'm serious, I'm always serious! Seriously!"

Remus sighed in exasperation. He put on his best 'serious face' and said, "Okay, that's enough with the serious/Sirius jokes. I'm serious."

Out of habit, and before Sirius even had a chance to open his mouth, Harry muttered, "No, he's Sirius, You're Remus." The Marauder in him couldn't help but tack on, "Seriously."

Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Somehow, and no one present was really sure how, a serious conversation had turned into a _Sirius Conversation_. "Look, cub," Remus began, trying to get everyone back on track. "We honestly think this is for the best for all parties involved. Hell, even Dumbledore agreed to this insane plan."

That little tidbit shacked Harry out of his mild stupor. "Wait a tic," he said, shaking his head and clearing out the cobwebs that had developed over the last few moments. "_Dumbledore_ agreed to this? I knew he was a bit barmy, but this just proves he's not only off his rocker, he flat out destroyed it."

Sirius shrugged and replied, "A lot of things have been going on, pup, and some not so good." He sighed and ran his fingers through his long hair before continuing, "This is the only real way to keep the Black title and fortune out of Malfoy's hands, and I agreed on the provision that I get to ensure you have at least one good vacation before things start getting worse. You'll come straight here after getting off the train, get some supplies and some new clothes, and then it's off on a real vacation for you."

"And you're telling me this just to _oblivate_ the information from my mind," Harry replied flatly. "What's the point in that?"

Remus decided to field this answer and responded, "Because we wanted you to write a letter to yourself for later, along with a copy of this memory. That way, you don't think that this is all some sick and twisted joke." He shrugged and continued, "And also, we won't be the one's doing the _oblivation_, Dumbledore will. He's far better at it. We also wanted to see if you had anything you wanted to add to the plan."

Harry sighed and ran his hand down his face. After a moment, he spoke, "Alright, I'm in."

* * *

_**JUNE 18th**_

Several minutes later, he found himself back in the Headmaster's office, stunned speechless. After a moment he collected his thoughts and said, "How?"

Dumbledore smiled and said, "The how is rather complicated, and quite ingenious if I do say so myself, but that is neither here nor there. We still have much to discuss and many plans to make in order to get you properly prepared for your vacation."

Harry nodded dumbly and replied, "Alright then. Where do we start?"

* * *

_**PRESENT DAY**_

Harry Potter woke up slowly, groggy, in horrendous pain, with no recollection of where he was, how he got there, or even what day it was. There were two things he was absolutely certain of at the moment, however.

One, hangovers sucked more than a toothless two-knut whore in the depths of Knockturn Alley.

Two, he was never drinking again. _Ever_.

He groaned as another spike of pure agony attempted to liquefy his brain and pour it out of his ears. It felt like Dobby had decided to release a million bludgers in his mind, all intent on 'saving him'. His tongue felt like sandpaper and he was debating whether or not staying still or attempting to bury his face into a pillow was the best course of action.

Deciding that he was fine right where he was, he groaned again and buried his face into the back of the neck of the person he was in bed with.

Wait... What?

_'Please be a girl, please be a girl'_ Harry thought to himself as he cracked open one bleary eye and was met with a tangle of inky black hair. He couldn't see much more than that, so he decided to attempt to use his other senses to determine the gender of the bed-mate he was currently cuddling. He felt soft, smooth skin and gently squeezed his hand, eliciting a quiet moan from the now confirmed female in bed with him as she pushed back against him. After a confused moment, Harry gently lifted the sheet covering both of them and looked down to confirm that yes, they were both naked.

That immediately gave way to Harry wondering where his boxers went.

He mentally slapped himself at that thought. Where his boxers were was the mildest of issues he was dealing with at the moment. Starting with the fact that the bed he was in was far bigger than the one in the room he had first checked in to when he arrived in Vegas. He lifted his head, careful not to disturb the girl sleeping next to him, and his mind was immediately diverted but the state of the room he was in.

The absolutely trashed room that he hadn't checked into when he first arrived in Las Vegas. The room with the tie-died walls, a gryffindor red carpet with swirls of deep indigo and bright green and scorch marks all over the patchwork ceiling complete with still-moving snitches fluttering between all four. The wooden four-post bed had somehow grown branches and leaves, and apparently birds were flying in and out of the completely blown out sliding glass door leading to the balcony to roost on them.

None of the furniture in the much larger room looked like it was in the right place, and some of it looked like it had been thrown around the room and into the walls, a few items dashed to pieces. There were clothes scattered all over the room, and it took him a minute, but he was able to confirm that, yes, there were a pair of knickers hanging from one of the branches on the tree-bed, and yes, those were his boxers on the lampshade.

_'Well there's that question answered.'_ Harry thought as he continued to look around the room.

Apparently there was also a nundu cub in the corner, curled up and fast asleep.

Considering that there was no possible way that one of the most dangerous magical creatures in the world was in the same room as him, as he knew that the climate was all wrong, he concluded that this had to be a really weird, alcohol-induced dream. Nodding to himself in satisfaction at solving that particular mystery, he decided to enjoy it while he could and pulled the sleeping girl tighter against him before slipping back into slumber.

* * *

Rachel, also known as Raven, groaned, waking slowly, head throbbing uncomfortably, and in a bed that wasn't her own. That much she noticed quite quickly. She also quickly noticed that she wasn't _alone_ in the bed that wasn't hers, the proof of that was currently pushing into her lower back.

_'Quite a bit of proof.'_ a small part of her mind noted absently.

She pushed the thought away and cracked open one eye. Both snapped open at the state of the room. She clenched her eyes shut for a moment before opening them again to confirm that yes, the room really was in such a state. Knowing her powers could only account for part of the damage, she wondered just who had the power necessary to do the rest. She wasn't trying to be vain, but she was quite powerful, but even she didn't have the ability to change the colors of a carpet or walls, and she had never seen anyone able to make a wooden bed frame grow branches and leaves. Even Poison Ivy couldn't pull of such a feat.

She turned her head and looked at her bed-mate. The first thing she noted was the wild mess of dark hair that somehow seemed to make him far more attractive. The second thing she noted was the fact that her bedmate was currently groping her. She looked down at the offending appendage and her eyes widened in shock at the wedding band on his finger. Taking a deep breath to calm racing mind, she considered what she knew to be true.

This wasn't the room she had checked in to when she first arrived in the city. That much was obvious. She groaned in the realization that she would likely have to help pay for part of the damages, considering her powers had likely caused some of it.

She and her bed-mate were both naked. Her panties hanging from a branch on the bed frame and his boxers hanging from the lampshade, along with what she could _feel_ pressed against her proved that.

Her bed-mate was married. She slept with a married man. She gave her _virginity_ up to a man that was _already taken_! Scowling dangerously at that thought, she turned and acted on the first impulse that came to mind.

She shoved him right over the edge of the bed.

* * *

The sudden sensation of falling caused Harry to snap wide awake just in time to crash to the floor. He groaned at the sudden forced movement before sitting up and looking around. Spotting the rather angry looking girl sitting up in the bed he had obviously just been pushed out of and holding the sheet against her to cover herself, he asked, "What the bloody hell was that for?"

"You are _married!_" she hissed scathingly. "And apparently unconcerned with _cheating_ on the poor, stupid girl who was willing to tie themselves to you!"

Harry frowned in confusion and looked down at his hand. The ring from his strange, alcohol-induced dream was still there. He looked back up at the girl when a glimmer caught her eye. Recognizing the pattern as the same as his ring, he quickly decided a touch of payback was in order. "And I feel sorry for the poor bastard that married a girl with such a bitter morning disposition."

The girl scowled and spit back, "I'm not married!"

Harry snorted. "Well that ring on your finger would indicate otherwise," he retorted, pointing to the offending piece of jewelry on the girl's hand.

The girl looked at her hand in confusion for a moment before everything registered and her eyes widened in shock. She was about to lay into him about that fact that it didn't excuse the fact that he was married as well when he raised his arm and clearly showed her his ring.

The ring that matched hers. The _matching_ wedding bands.

The now wide-eyed girl blinked once, twice, thrice before saying, "Well, hell."

* * *

After getting dressed (and having several covert looks that neither would ever admit to) and downing a couple hangover potions that Harry had in his pants (that were somehow stuck to the ceiling), both teens were sitting at a table in the living area of the rather extravagant and quite spacious suite they found themselves in. After several moments of tense silence, Harry took a deep breath and stuck out his hand, saying, "I'm Harry. I really hope you don't mind me asking, but may I have your name?"

The girl snorted and muttered something that he couldn't quite make out before speaking up and asking, "And what's your last name?" She questioned, thoroughly ignoring his hand.

Harry sighed at the casual dismissal and replied, "Potter." Half of him hoped for the usual reaction he got, because if she didn't recognize the name, then it likely meant that she wasn't magical, which was an entire situation that he was truly hoping to avoid.

"Then I suppose my name is Rachel Potter," the girl replied acerbically.

"Untrue," Harry retorted immediately, causing the girl to raise an eyebrow at him in a silent demand for an explanation to that. "Names don't change after you get married. You have to go to a separate office to legally change names, and I somehow doubt that we did that between the marriage and this morning." He shrugged and added, "Or at least, I haven't found the paperwork indicating such."

An arched eyebrow was his only response for a moment before he said, "I have a friend that does a lot of research about some of the most random things." He seemed to lose focus in thought for a moment before muttering, "She's gonna kill me when she finds out I got married."

"Girlfriend?" Rachel spit out bitingly, tensing further.

Harry wrinkled his nose and shook his head rapidly. "Eww, no. We've been best friends for years and she's more like a sister than anything else." He snorted and clarified, "No, she's going to kill me because we were both supposed to stand for each other at each other's wedding. She's going to be mad that she didn't get the chance."

Rachel tentatively reached out with her empathic and telepathic abilities, making a light connection with the boy across from her. From her empathic senses, she could feel a slight revulsion at the idea of his friend being his girlfriend, as well as a large amount of humor and exasperation, as if he had resigned himself to the fact that everyone thought that they would or have gotten together. Underneath all that was nervousness and... hope? She mentally shook her head. Nothing nefarious there in the least.

Her telepathic senses, however, got nothing but truth in his words, but there was something... Off about it. Not necessarily a lie, more like he had been keeping a secret for so long and worded his responses to give truth but not the _whole_ truth that it was just habit to do so now. She tried to look deeper and hit something, a barrier or shield of some sort around his mind, and her telepathy just slid off of it like water. She looked at him closely. He wasn't tense or distracted by something else, as if he was keeping his mind protected. In fact, his entire concentration seemed to be solely on her. His bright emerald green eyes bored into her own deep indigo ones, almost as if he could read her soul. She doubted she had ever been on the receiving end of such intensity before, and it sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

She shook it off and relaxed slightly. So far he had been somewhat pleasant company, and he didn't seem to have any kind of nefarious agenda, but the fact that his mind was protected was something that shocked her. She had only met a few people that could block her telepathy, and those people were either so alien compared to her that the ability simply wouldn't work, or they had superior technology or magical artifacts that blocked it for them. He had nothing technological on him, not even a cell phone that she saw, and he didn't seem to be very alien, so that left artifact, which she couldn't check for at the moment. Suddenly, a voice from his pocket interrupted her thoughts.

"Harry! Harry, pick up!" Harry froze for a second before smiling stiffly and saying, "Just a tic, really need to get that." She watched him stand swiftly and walk into the other room, reaching into his pocket and pulling out...

A Mirror? _What_?

She shook off her confusion and decided that now would be a good time to get in touch with her friends as well. She was likely overdue for a check-in anyway and they were probably worried about her. Rachel sighed heavily and activated her communicator. "Robin, I need you to do me a favor."

* * *

"What's the favor pup?" Sirius asked seriously. Contrary to popular belief, he _knew_ when it was a bad time to joke around, he just didn't _care_ most of the time. But this was his godson, and his godson needed something, and it was serious from what Sirius could tell from Harry's expression.

"I need you to tell me about magical marriages, because there's blood on my wedding certificate and I somehow doubt that non-magicals do that sort of thing," Harry said quickly. "And I need to know the information _now_."

* * *

"You got married!?" Robin screeched over the communicator. "That's it, we're coming to get you, and I'm gonna beat whomev-"

"Robin!" Rachel interrupted. "Now is not the time. I just need to know what I did last night, so could you find out?"

There was a pause and then, "Give me a few to piece things together," Robin replied with a sigh.

* * *

"Well hurry it up, I need to know as soon as possible." Harry seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Actually, give the mirror to Hermione, she likely knows more than you could possibly find out in a short amount of time."

"You know you'll be on the receiving end of quite the tirade if I do that, you know," Sirius replied.

"Tell her that chastising me will have to wait, and that doing so would be bad at the moment." Harry seemed to think for a moment before adding, "Ask her if it wouldn't be more satisfying and have a larger impact if she waits until she can do it in person after she has a chance to get her facts together or if she just wants to jump into the deep end with no information like she did with S.P.E.W." After a second of further thought, he said, "Don't tell her that was my idea, though. Let her think you're doing it on your own because you think it would be funny."

Sirius grinned and said, "That's a good idea pup, but you know you'll be in for worse the next time she sees you."

* * *

"I know," Rachel sighed. "But I really don't think I can deal with Starfire's upbeat attitude at the moment."

Robin snorted and tried to smother his laughter. Upbeat was rather kind, all things considered. The Tamarian girl had rarely been down, and even when she was, it wasn't for long. In the sanctity of his own mind, he believed that some of the events in her life gave her some severe insight into sadness and depression, enough that anything else just didn't compare. "Alright, I think I've pieced this together. Thank god it was in Vegas, that place has enough security cameras to cover the entire city nearly twice over."

Robin continued, "Seems your 'not-a-vacation' began with you shadowing Donna Troy as planned. That continued all day until around seven that evening, when she somehow managed to get into a nightclub. You followed her in and kept an eye on her and the place before it looked like she started to get suspicious, so you just struck up a conversation with the person next to you." Robin paused for a second before saying, "Huh. This is interesting."

* * *

"Define interesting," Harry said cautiously, thinking that he really did not want to know the answer.

"You're bloody buggered now, you poor, stupid bastard," Hermione responded levelly. "If those vows are accurate-"

"Hermione, language," Harry interrupted flatly. She may be Ms. Prim-and-proper and chastising Ron and him for their language in school, but that was because she was at Hogwarts on a scholarship. She simply couldn't _afford_ to be anything else and risk loosing it. Outside school, however, she was far more relaxed about 'proper behaviour'. "And they're written on the marriage certificate, So I'm fairly sure it's accurate."

Hermione snorted and replied, "Then there are terms and conditions on a piece of parchment that you signed and freely put blood on. It's now more a contract than a true marriage certificate as you would see in the non-magical world." She sighed in exasperation and ran her fingers through her hair, biting her lip in thought. After a tense moment she finally said, "I don't see any loopholes here, Harry. The terms are rather clear in the whole 'Til Death' thing." She sighed sadly and concluded, "So you might as well get used to it."

* * *

"Get used to it?" Rachel asked darkly. She took a deep breath and sighed, trying to calm herself down. "You know what, never mind. What happened next?"

"Well, after you got married, by Elvis of all people, the two of you decided to try your luck at gambling," Robin said, getting back on track. "You hit the slot machines first." After a slight pause, Robin continued disbelievingly as he stated, "And hit five jackpots on five consecutive machines inside thirty seconds."

Rachel's eyes widened in shock. "What?" she asked, her tone now matching Robin's.

* * *

"I said," Hermione stated calmly. "I think you should come clean with her, Harry, about everything." She shook her head and smiled, saying, "Not immediately of course, but for better or worse, she _is_ your wife now. You're going to have to learn to trust her at some point."

"You don't think she's a Death Eater or something?" Harry asked confusedly. He knew that's how Ron and likely Mrs. Weasley would react at first.

Hermione grinned and said, "You told me earlier that you pointed out her ring to her while she was holding the sheet up against her, meaning you saw her left arm naked, and if _you_ of all people didn't notice a mark, then she's definitely not a Death Eater. As for the 'something', there's no way to tell right now, so why worry about something you have no knowledge of at the moment, especially when you can't change that fact. Definitely be cautious, but stressing out about it won't do any good. But that's not the question I want you to answer right now." Her grin turned wicked and she asked, "So, is she hot?"

* * *

Rachel sighed tiredly. "Starfire, you just find out that I'm suddenly married, and the first thing you ask is 'is he hot?'" She shook her head at her friends thought processes as she tried to change the subject. "Robin, why did you let her in on this conversation?"

"I had to use the monitor room to piece all this together, and she walked in," Robin stated. "I don't usually lock this door because we're the only ones that get this far and then finding out you were married kind of threw everything else out."

"And you did not answer my question, friend Raven," Starfire stated.

* * *

"Yes, she is, but that's not the point. Why do you even want to know?" Harry asked confusedly. This was a bit unlike Hermione. Should he have her give the mirror back to Sirius so he can have his godfather check her for polyjuice or something? He shook his head. He was starting to get as bad as Mad-Eye.

"Because, Harry," Hermione huffed. "Let's face it, I'm waiting on _Ron_ to make the first move." She stared at him pointedly through the mirror for a second before continuing, "We both know that's going to be a _very_ long wait. As such, I've decided that it's a good idea to live vicariously through you."

* * *

"Let's just get back on track here. I really need to find out what happened last night," Rachel said quickly, not really wanting to hear Starfire go any further down that train of thought.

"After the slot machines," Robin started quickly, just as disturbed as Rachel was and trying not to give a chance for Starfire to interrupt. "Came the roulette tables. Everything you won from the slot machines, which totaled out at just over fifteen thousand dollars by the way, your husband bet on number thirteen." After a second of silence, he said, "And won." Quieter, he muttered, "Why am I suddenly _not_ surprised?" He spoke up again and continued, "Your husband won the next four consecutive spins before deciding to try his hand at cards. After finding the highest stakes table the two of you could find in the entire casino, you apparently sat on his lap while he proceeded to clean house for the next three hours. All total, you two managed to win just over twenty million dollars before the staff politely asked you to leave the casino," Robin said.

"Which means they kicked us out," Rachel translated.

"Yup." Robin continued with, "So, it looks like you two seemed to have decided to see how long that luck would hold out, and made your way to a different gambling establishment. And when you got booted from that one for winning too much, the two of you went on to the next."

"Somewhere along the line, you two managed to pick up what looks like a leopard or jaguar cub." After a momentary pause, Robin continued narrating. "Four casinos later, you were up by quite a bit," Robin frowned in thought before finishing, "To be honest, I've never seen such a long run of such good luck." Robin sighed. "I'm still at a loss as to how he managed it, but your husband somehow found his way into more than one Owner's Game," he shook his head. "It's likely because the casinos had lost so much money in such a short time they thought it would be a quick and easy way to get it back and line their pockets at the same time."

"I can see where the other players in those games were cheating, but somehow it never worked." Robin shook head head again in disbelief. "I don't think he lost a hand all night." After a moment, Robin continued, "It looks like quite a few businesses changed hands last night. Now your husband owns eighty-seven percent of the Bellagio, sixty-three percent of Caesar's Palace, fifty-four percent of The Mirage, and fifty-two percent of the Monte Carlo, along with major, if not majority shares in several other companies. By the way, you finally checked in to the Owner's Suite at the Bellagio. Top floor apartment that spans nearly the entire top floor and has roof access. Oh, and apparently you two won a car from a drawing, looks like a nice one at that." Robin added appreciatively.

* * *

"How can you tell it's a nice car?" Harry asked. His knowledge of automobiles was severely lacking.

Hermione sighed and said, "Because you said the fob said 'Jaguar', and those are universally considered to be 'nice' cars."

"Oh," Harry replied quickly. "That's everything in my pockets, Hermione."

"Okay, look around the room. Notice anything new? Most likely a briefcase or maybe a duffel bag in extreme cases," Hermione coached. "If you find something like that, open it and tell me what's inside."

Harry nodded and spotted a veritable mountain of black duffel bags in the corner of the room with a now collapsed table next to it, a slim silver briefcase leaning against it. Harry walked over and opened the bags first. His experience with the stone told him that the smaller an object was, the more dangerous it was, and he was hoping to have fainted by then to stall that particular revelation. He peeked inside and saw money.

Lots of money.

He swallows thickly and looked more carefully at the bag, finally noticing a casino's emblem on the black canvas material. "Hermione?" he asked, far more calmly than he felt. "How much cash do the casinos themselves put in these black duffel bags?"

"Around five million dollars," She answered. "Why?" she asked, suddenly hesitant of the answer. It would be just like him to go to the city famous for robbing tourists and proceeding to rob the city blind in a somewhat legal fashion without ever meaning to.

"Twenty-five." Harry said squeakily.

"Twenty-five million dollars?" Hermione attempted to clarify. She was really hoping that she was correct in that assumption. It would be far less troublesome if it were.

"Twenty-five duffel bags."

And there went that assumption, viciously killed before it could even take root. "Well, that's a lot of money." The shocked girl finally stated.

"Should I open the briefcase?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Hermione sighed in finality. "Go ahead, it can't be any worse than this."

* * *

"You just had to say that, didn't you, Robin?" Rachel asked bitingly. "Now it's most definitely going to be worse."

Robin sighed and said, "That's just superstition, Rae. Things aren't going to get worse just because I said that."

Rachel frowned and asked, "Is there anything else I need to know, Robin?"

"You're husband has the alias of James Evans Black."

* * *

"James Evans Black?" Hermione asked. "That's the name on your fake I.D. How did that even go through? There's no way it could be that thorough," Hermione said disbelievingly.

"I went through the goblins to make a second identity. It seemed like a good idea at the time," Harry replied defensively. "Looks like it really was."

A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he spun, snapping his wand from his holster and into his hand and pointing it at-

A nundu cub.

He knew a nundu cub when he saw one. He studied all sorts of dangerous creatures preparing for the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, so he was positive that the feline cub was most definitely a nundu. The head and paws were far too big compared to its body to be a jaguar or leopard.

"Hermione, there's a nundu cub sleeping in the corner," Harry said, trying his best to smother his fear. The poison was far more concentrated in the cubs compared to the adults. Luckily, they didn't have the poison breath that young.

"You're joking. There's no way you would find a nundu cub in the middle of a desert." Hermione stated, shaking her head. "Your luck can't be that bad. Or good depending on your perspective."

"I am most definitely _not_ joking here Hermione," Harry stated calmly. "There's a nundu cub here curled up in the corner. And how is this a good thing from any perspective?!"

"Harry, are you ever going to drink that much again?" Hermione asked levelly. At Harry's head shaking side to side rather vigorously, She stated, "Then it's a good thing from my perspective because it really drives in the lesson that drinking enough to _black out_ is bad for you." After a second of thought she asked curiously, "Where did you find, let alone _acquire_, a nundu cub?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be here nearly messing myself wondering the same thing, as well as when I'm going to be dinner!" Harry hissed quietly, trying not to disturb the beast. "What do I do about it?"

"I'd recommend backing slowly out of the room and closing the door," Hermione stated as if speaking to a small child. "Then I'd call the authorities and let them deal with that particular mess."

"Good idea," Harry stated quickly. "I'll talk to you later, Hermione. Bye."

* * *

Rachel switched off her communicator and sighed. This whole situation was beyond messed up. She looked at the door her _husband_ had disappeared through and idly wondered what was taking so long.

Appearing as if by her mental command, Harry slowly backed out through the doorway, shutting the door carefully behind him with an almost inaudible 'click'. He turned on his heel swiftly and let out the breath he was holding. He spotted Rachel looking at him curiously and he just grinned and asked, "What do you know about nundu?"

The phone rang suddenly, startling the duo. Harry walked over and quickly snatched up the receiver before it could ring a second time. He put his ear to the device and said, "Hello?" He frowned and then scowled in confusion and replied, "This is he." A few moments later he muttered, "Figures." Louder, he said, "I'll be down as soon as I can. One question though, is he still unconscious?" Harry suddenly grinned and replied, "Thank you," before hanging up the phone.

"What was that about?" Rachel asked curiously.

"My uncle is in jail at the moment," Harry said with a shrug. "To be honest, I half expected it. With no one here to keep an eye one him and being so far away from England, he could finally cut lose and let his marauder show." He grinned before asking, "Want to accompany me?"

* * *

Remus Lupin was suddenly and quite violently awoken with the sound of loud, obnoxious banging. Mind-shattering agony spiked through his brain as he groaned and attempted to roll over, only to come crashing to the floor.

"Rise and shine, Moony! Time to get up and face the day!" Harry yelled over the sound of the metal trash can lids he was banging together. As Remus groaned in agony, Harry nudged him with his toe. "Oi! Remus, wake up! And next time you think Padfoot has a good idea I want you to smack yourself until you're sober and consider it again then."

"Cub? Is that you?" Remus groaned. "What's going on? Where am I?"

"You're in the drunk tank in the Las Vegas police department," Harry replied flatly. "Have you heard the list of charges?"

Remus paled as he asked, "What charges?"

Harry smirked as he listed off, "Fourteen counts of indecent exposure, twenty-three counts of harassment, eighteen restraining orders, six counts of evading arrest, one hundred and three counts of vandalism in various forms, twenty counts of petty theft, five counts of animal theft, nine counts of speeding, three counts of grand theft auto, ten counts of defacing government property, thirty-three counts of vigilantism, and a single count of public drunkenness." Harry grinned widely and said, "Someone had a busy time."

"Oh," Remus said weakly. "Well that's not good."

"Oh, they dropped the charges," Harry shrugged. "Several of the officers were there at the start of your little tour of Vegas and saw how things spiraled out of control. They said they hadn't laughed that hard in years." Harry grinned, "Apparently, they're piecing it all together using various security cameras from across the city that caught the action so they can watch it over and over again." His grin widened considerably and he added, "Their sending me a copy as well. I just have to see how it all lead to this."

Remus hung his head and sighed. "I'm never going to live this one down, am I?"

Harry shook his head and replied, "Not a chance, Moony. Not a chance. Now, let's get out of here and I'll introduce you to my wife."

Remus' eyes widened as he sputtered, "W-Wife?!"

Harry tsked at Remus and shook his head in mock disappointment. "You were the witness for my wedding, your name is on the certificate." He sighed in mock sadness and said, "I can't believe you don't remember one of the happiest moments of my life that I can't remember either."

Remus rolled his eyes and said flatly, "Very nice, cub. You almost had me going there." He stood up and stretched, saying, "Now let's get out of here."

As the two walked through the halls of the police department, Remus noticed something odd. Every officer he passed was snickering, chortling, or outright laughing, and some were taking pictures. He just shook his head and sighed. He'd fix whatever the cub did later, and then he'd plot revenge.

It was the Marauder way after all.

* * *

Remus set down the parchment he had been staring at for the past ten minutes and looked around the spacious suite that the cub apparently owned now. "So you really are married," he muttered disbelievingly. "I didn't believe it at first, but here's the proof. With my signature." He sighed and shook his head, saying, "Molly is going to blow a gasket or twelve. She had her sights set on you marrying Ginny, you know."

Harry frowned and shuddered. "That's disgusting, Moony. She's like a sister to me." He shuddered again and added, "Not to mention the fact she looks a bit like my dead mum."

"Oh, that would just scream of a familial intimacy complex," Rachel muttered quietly.

Harry gagged and groaned. "I almost threw up. Thanks for that."

"What I can't figure out is where you got your wedding ring, Harry." Remus said, eying the piece of jewelry speculatively. "I mean, wood and metal is rather unique, and I doubt just any store would carry something like that."

Harry just shrugged. "No idea, Moony. I was hoping you did actually," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"Sorry, cub," Remus said, shaking his head. "I've got nothing." He sighed and looked around the room one more time before asking, "So have you two decided what you're going to do next?"

Harry froze. That was an issue, wasn't it. He had responsibilities and obligations in England, and he couldn't expect Rachel to just pick up and move with him. At the same time, he couldn't abandon everyone back home.

Rachel interrupted his thoughts by saying flatly, "Well, I'd assume getting an annulment would be quite simple in this city." Seeing the reaction that statement got made Rachel wonder just what was wrong with what she said.

Harry and Remus both flinched slightly and winced, looking at each other and wondering who was going to be the one to break the bad news. Finally Remus sighed and shook his head, saying, "She's your wife, cub. This one's on you."

Rachel narrowed her eyes and turned to Harry, asking, "What is it that I'm not being told?"

Harry winced again and replied slowly, "Well, what's your stance on magic?"

Rachel was rather confused at that statement. What did magic have to do with her and Harry being married? After a moment of rapid thought, her eyes widened in shock and then narrowed dangerously. "I'm a student of magic. Now, explain what that has to do with us being married."

Harry sighed and picked up the marriage certificate, handing it to Rachel. She took it from him carefully and looked at it, her eyes widening at what she saw. It was definitely not like any marriage certificate that she had ever seen, and she was hesitant to ask, but if her assumptions were true, then it was important to know. "Is that blood?"

Harry winced again at her tone and nodded. "Willingly given, apparently."

_Well that makes a hell of a change on the landscape_, Rachel thought to herself. She read and reread the parchment in her hands several times before stating with a sigh, "It's impossible to get out of this, isn't it."

Harry nodded hesitantly, not really knowing what to say.

Rachel set the parchment down and rubbed her temples, trying to stave off the headache she could feel building. Robin was going to have a fit about this, and she could only imagine Starfire's reaction, let alone the rest of the group's, but the two teens were tied together now, for better or worse. Finally she sighed and said flatly, "Well, I for one, don't really want my husband to up and disappear on me."

Harry relaxed slightly and finally released the breath he hadn't really noticed he had been holding. At least she seemed to want to make things work, that was a step in a good direction. He smiled slightly and replied, "And I'd rather not go through never seeing my wife again."

Raven frowned slightly and responded quickly, "Oh, you're still in the dog house, mister. I'm just not sure how long you're going to be there, _yet_."

Harry tensed again and hung his head. Okay, maybe not a _full_ step in a good direction, but it was still better than he thought it would be. At least she wasn't trying to kill him.

_Not yet at least_, he amended in his mind.


	2. The Word of the Day

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own anything concerning the rights to anything you might recognize.

**Author's note:**

Chapter two of my take on _Blood Brandy's_ Vegas Vacation Challenge.

I'm glad people liked the part of the last chapter where Harry and Raven are talking to their friends and trying to figure out what had happened the night before. You have no idea how difficult it was to get that bit to flow right and not seem extremely forced. I spent nearly three days hammering that out.

**Publish Date:** Aug. 26th, 2013

**Update Date:** N/A

* * *

**Chapter Two**

The Word of the Day

"Well, I can't just up and leave," Rachel stated. "I was officially only in Las Vegas on business, then this happened. I can't simply abandon my responsibilities here in the States."

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. "And I was only here on vacation. I have obligations of my own back in England." Harry sighed tiredly and muttered, "Not like the bastard's going to stop on his own."

Rachel doubted Harry intended for her to hear that last bit, but she did, and it was intriguing to say the least. She sighed internally, knowing that there was a lot they needed to talk about and it seemed there wasn't an unlimited amount of time to do it in. Not only that, but she had to find Donna Troy again, and finding her the first time had been difficult enough. Finding her now, in a city this populated with the kind of lead she had, was going to be annoying. She really needed to prioritize things at the moment.

The marriage issue wasn't going anywhere, being the life-long commitment it was, and it seemed her husband was at least willing to try and make things work between them. Personally, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, yet at least, but she was at least willing to find out. Ultimately, however, the issue wasn't necessarily time-sensitive.

Finding Donna Troy, however, was. Rachel had no idea where the other girl went or even if she was still in the city. First thing she needed to do was get away from Harry and Remus so that she could do her job, but that seemed more difficult that she originally thought it would be.

Not only that, but the... _Odd_ things that Robin had noticed about or around Harry while he was filling Rachel in on their escapades. Individually, there were nothing big, just curiosities that were a bit strange or slightly surprising, but all of those small things added up to a rather large question mark. She doubted Robin really thought things through when he asked Rachel to basically _spy_ on her husband, but she was terribly curious, herself. '_Just because I find something out'_, Rachel thought to herself, '_Doesn't necessarily mean it has to be reported to the others._'

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Raven started slightly at the sudden noise and noticed that both Remus and Harry tensed and shifted their weight into what Rachel recognized as someone preparing for a fight. Harry turned to Remus and raised an eyebrow in a silent question. At Remus' silent negative reply, Harry tensed a bit further.

Never taking his eyes away from the door, he waved Remus forward and wrapped his hand around Rachel's upper arm, gently guiding her out of her chair. She scowled at him and opened her mouth to berate him for it when he pressed his index finger against her lips and shook his head, indicating the need for silence. She likely would have ignored it if the look on his face wasn't so serious. She had seen that particular look before, both on herself and her new teammates, and it more than just mildly indicated someone who was prepared for a potentially lethal confrontation.

'_Could he be some superhero from England?_' she thought to herself. It would explain quite a bit. Donna Troy had first popped up in Greece, which wasn't that far from England for a super. Not to mention the fact that they really didn't watch overseas all that much. They kept an eye out for the big issues, but they had no reliably consistent flow of information just yet. It wouldn't be much of a surprise to find supers all over the world, but the odds of running into one while shadowing another bordered just on this side of impossible. '_Maybe here for the same reason you are?_'

As soon as all of those thoughts registered, her eyes widened slightly in surprise before she let him lead her off to the side of the room, just out of view but able to intervene if needed. Tactically, it was a sound strategy. If anything happened, all Remus had to do was back up, and she or Harry could blast through the door and into whatever was attacking on the other side. She doubted that Harry knew the extent of her abilities, but it wouldn't stop her from interfering if necessary, and a small spark of possessiveness gave voice to a thought. 'My_ husband! _I'm_ the only one allowed to harm him!_'

Remus opened the door and smiled pleasantly at the person on the other side. "Can I help you?"

A rough, gravelly voice replied tersely, "I am looking for Harry Potter. My name is Grimjaw, and I am his Gringott's account manager."

"Do you have adequate identification?" Remus questioned, remaining pleasant.

There was a small grunt followed by the now identified Grimjaw saying, "Yes, I do."

There was a click of what sounded like a briefcase opening and some rustling of paper. Rachel looked at Harry with an arched eyebrow, silently demanding an explanation. Harry leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "I promise I'll explain as soon as I can, seeing as it affects my wife as well as myself, but right now isn't the time."

Rachel shivered slightly and a small thrill raced up and down her spine at his close proximity and she scowled internally at herself. She should have more control than this, damn it! She turned to Harry and hissed back, "You better!" before turning away from him and the intensity of his eyes.

After a moment, the two heard Remus reply, "Everything seems to be in order. Please, come in." He stepped to the side to allow the person inside and continued, "Can't be too careful nowadays."

The second Rachel saw the man she _knew_ something was off. He had the appearance of a normal business man, but all of her senses screamed at her that he wasn't what he appeared to be. Believing the new arrival to be dangerous, she tensed and hissed out quietly to Harry, "He's using magic to hide who he is."

She was thoroughly startled when he outright laughed. Then she was insulted at his apparent lack of faith in her, but before she could form a response, Harry replied, "Of course he is. You don't expect a goblin to just walk around in the non-magical world without being under a glamour, do you?"

The gears spinning in her mind ground to a sudden and screeching halt. Finally she managed to ask, "Goblin?"

He looked at her in confusion and replied, "I figured you knew what he was when he said he was an account manager at Gringott's."

"Goblins aren't real, and what the hell is Gringott's?" She hissed, thoroughly unamused by the sudden turn of events.

Harry's look of confusion deepened and he replied, "I thought you said you studied magic?" He shook his head and replied, "Never mind. Goblins run the banking establishment called Gringott's. They gained the rights to unilaterally control the wizard's banking industry in the Goblin Treaty of 1624 following the Fifth Rebellion."

"Very good, Lord Potter." Rachel turned back and started slightly. Where the normal looking business man was before, now stood a short, squat, humanoid creature with wrinkly green skin, long pointed ears, and a wide grin that showed off rows of gleaming, razor-sharp teeth. The small creature turned and looked at Rachel intensely before he grinned again and said to Harry, "I'm a bit surprised that you found a Lady for the Potter line so quickly, given your reluctance to consider the matter the last time we met."

"Wait, what?" Rachel asked numbly, feeling like she had suddenly been shoved off the deep end.

The goblin frowned and looked at the both of them for a moment before saying, "The two of you are bound by magic in marriage. This makes you the Lady Potter of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter." He then turned to Harry and said, "Time is money, and we have business to take care of."

Harry nodded and muttered a 'be right back' before retreating into the bedroom. A few minutes later filled with an awkward silence (at least to Rachel), Harry returned with a slim, silver briefcase. He sat down and opened the briefcase, pulling out its contents and passing them to the goblin before leaning back with a relieved sigh and muttering, "Forgot about the nundu in there."

Raven couldn't contain her curiosity anymore and asked, "What exactly is a nundu and why is one in the bedroom?" Seeing both the goblin and Remus tense in fear and stare at the bedroom door as if Trigon himself was knocking on it caused even more confusion.

Finally Remus asked shakily, "You don't really have a nundu in there, right cub?"

Harry grinned sheepishly and shrugged, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Maybe?"

Remus' eyes snapped back to the door and the man seemed to refuse to blink. Rachel noticed him fingering a slim piece of wood that reminded Rachel of Zatanna's wand, and she realized it must be a focus for his magic. Finally Remus spoke, sounding quite a bit like a professor as he did so.

"Nundu are a magical feline species native to East Africa. They're a class five beast that can grow up to thirty feet long and look like leopards or spotted jaguars." The man gulped slightly and continued, "In addition to the razor-sharp claws and nearly foot-long teeth, the adult nundu can expel a cloud of lethal poisonous gas from its lungs at a range of more than fifty feet, and it's bite is even more toxic. While the cubs don't have the poison breath, their bites are more than three times as deadly as an adults. An adult nundu is highly magically resistant, and there is no record of anyone subduing one with any less than a _hundred_ fully trained wizards and witches, and even then, there are _always_ casualties." Remus turned to the now wide-eyed Rachel and finished, "To put things in better perspective, a team of _twelve_ well trained handlers can subdue a fifty-foot, nesting, female dragon with relatively little issue." He turned back to Harry and asked, "Are we talking about a cub, or do we need to cast bubble-head charms?"

"It's still a cub," Harry replied. "I'm terrified to go back in there, but it's sleeping and hasn't done anything wrong."

Remus looked at Harry intensely for a moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. "Harry," He said in exasperation, "You can not keep the class five beast. It's illegal and you don't have the room for it. And what are you going to do with it when you go back to Hogwarts?"

Harry just shrugged and replied simply, "Hagrid."

Remus froze for a moment and blinked. Finally he said, "While that _might_ work for while you're at Hogwarts, it's still illegal and you don't have the room."

At this, Grimjaw coughed lightly to catch everyone's attention and said, "That's not strictly true. The Potters have long since had a license to breed and keep dangerous beasts. It's just illegal to buy or sell living specimens in England. Since the beast was acquired in the United States, it's perfectly legal and the Potters still have the properties and resources to house and care for their beasts comfortably."

Remus' shoulders slumped as he sighed tiredly. "You're going to keep the class five beast that can kill entire groups of people without breaking stride, aren't you." Seeing Harry's wide, answering grin caused Remus to slump further in his chair and mutter, "Of course you are. You wouldn't be a Potter if you didn't."

"I'd name him Fluffy, but that name was taken by Hagrid," Harry replied with a grin.

Remus looked confused and replied, "Fluffy?" He shook his head and continued, "I'm not familiar with the creature he named Fluffy. Dare I ask?"

Harry shrugged. "First year. Fully grown cerberus." He turned to Rachel and clarified, "A twelve foot tall, three-headed guard dog."

Grimjaw cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and said, "Now that the matter of the nundu is settled, I'll send a retrieval team to pick it up when I return to the office. They'll place it at Potter Manor for now and ensure that the beast is properly taken care of." He shuffled the papers in front of him for a second and continued, "Now, what would you like done with the companies you acquired?"

Harry thought for a long moment before replying, "I'd like everything to continue as usual for now. Do a complete audit of each company and see how they interact with the other Potter interests. I'll likely have more to say when I can see those audits." Harry shocked Rachel by immediately turning to her and asking seriously, "Anything to add?"

She blinked at him before saying, "Why are you asking me?"

He looked confused before stating, almost as a question, "Because you're my wife?" He shrugged and continued, "It's not like we can get a divorce, so..."

She could tell he was completely serious. She could _feel_ it. He _wanted_ her to be involved in this, and she didn't know why. Sure, they were married, but that didn't mean anything to him, did it? She narrowed her eyes and dug a bit deeper, only to be shocked at what she found, and it was definitely not the reluctance she had been expecting.

She really needed to have a long conversation with him, and soon.

"Umm," She finally uttered, furrowing her brow in thought. The small surge of affection she felt from Harry at the action threw off her train of thought slightly before she finally got it back and said, "I honestly have no idea. Maybe invest in Wayne Enterprises? A... friend of mine keeps going on and on about it, and says it's a really good company. I know he's invested in it as well."

He looked at her curiously for her hesitance on what to call Robin, but didn't ask about it, much to her relief. Grimjaw coughed slightly and said, "You're already invested in Wayne Enterprises. Twenty-five percent ownership, in fact."

Raven felt her eyes widen and her jaw go slack in shock. She almost began cackling at the prospective look on Robin's face when he found that out!

Apparently her mood was caught out, because she looked at Harry, who was wearing a rather devious smirk and she felt herself flush slightly in response. "What?" She asked, a bit defensively.

Harry's smirk widened and he replied, "You can't wait to hold that over your friend's head, can you?"

Rachel used every ounce of control to slip her mask of apathy on and replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Harry just smiled and turned back to the goblin. "What other business is there?"

The goblin reached over and picked up another piece of parchment and replied, "Now that your godfather is officially deceased, there is the matter of his will and the Black Lordship. It's rather simple, as he left everything to you with the exception of some minor bequeaths."

There wasn't even a hint of sadness or depression that Rachel could feel from Harry, just amusement, which confused her greatly. Outwardly, Harry just nodded and replied, "Do I have to accept the Black Lordship?"

"No," Grimjaw admitted. "But if you decline, then the Lordship passes on to the next eligible male in line, which in this case is Draco Malfoy."

Annoyance, indecision, and outright anger raged through Harry at the mention of the name, causing Rachel to hiss in discomfort. Harry's emotions were the strongest and most potent she had ever felt from a human being, and it was rather difficult to keep them from spilling over and affecting her own.

Finally, and in such a calm manner that it left Rachel rather worried about what her husband was going to do, Harry asked, "And if Draco Malfoy becomes... Ineligible to inherit, what happens to the Lordship?"

"Harry," Remus interrupted. "You can't honestly be considering killing Draco."

Harry looked at Remus and replied, "I'm not, as he hasn't done anything to really deserve it. But for being a racist, bigoted, idiotic, inbred ponce that actually believes the trash that spews from his filthy maw? I'm sure sterility will be enough."

Rachel froze at the complete and utter viciousness lacing his voice. It was so alien compared to the mental image she had begun to build of Harry that it thoroughly forced her to truly reevaluate her husband.

Harry turned toward Grimjaw and asked, "How long do I have to decide on accepting the Black Lordship?"

"One year from the day of the public will reading, which is at the end of the month," Grimjaw replied quickly, glancing at a page in front of him as he did so. "We've already gone over the Lordship laws with you when you took up the mantle of Lord Potter, so you should know what to expect for the most part."

Harry sighed and muttered under his breath for a moment before saying, "Alright. I'll have a decision for you as soon as I can."

Grimjaw nodded and shuffled through the papers in front of him. After a moment, he said, "I believe our business is done. If you need anything, you know how to contact me. May your vaults be ever full."

Harry bowed his head slightly to the goblin and replied, "And may your enemies' flesh grace your family's table."

Grimjaw grinned at the response and stood, reapplying his glamour as he walked towards the door. As soon as the goblin had left and the door was shut, Remus arched an eyebrow and asked, "Where exactly did all that hostility coming from?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and answered, "The Department of Mysteries."

Remus opened his mouth to respond, but seemed to think better of it at the look on Harry's face and just nodded instead. "At least you're all okay."

Harry snorted. "Ron might have permanent brain damage and Hermione's at risk of never being able to have children of her own." He shook his head sadly and continued, "And it was my fault for leading them into that near death-trap."

'_And the possibility of him being a super just went up,_' Rachel thought, listening intently to what was being said now.

"But you didn't know it was a trap at the time, did you?" Remus replied. "You can't really blame yourself for falling for that one, cub. Voldemort has even tricked Dumbledore a time or two."

Harry just sighed and nodded reluctantly. Finally, he looked up at Remus with icy eyes, and said, "Well, we did learn two valuable lessons there. Always have a plan, and make sure your enemy isn't going to get up again, no matter what." He shook his head and continued, "It won't be stunners and body-binds that we throw around next time, it'll be cutters and bone-breakers. They want to play for keeps, then we will too."

"Harry," Remus started, but was interrupted.

"No, Remus. Everyone keeps telling me that this is a war, complete with battles and bids to take over the entire Ministry." Harry sighed and ran one hand through his hair. "So if this is a war, then it needs to be fought like one. We can't keep putting those bastards on trial or in Azkaban. Tell me honestly, how many Death Eaters actually made it to prison and how many escaped with that damned _imperious_ defense?"

Remus sighed and seemed to deflate. Finally he said quietly, "Less than twenty percent of his followers ended up in prison, the rest got off."

"And how many of those that went to prison are still there?" Harry prompted.

Remus sighed again and muttered, "None."

"None," Harry repeated dryly. "Are you seeing the problem, yet? They don't even stay in prison long anymore, and that's on the minuscule chance that they even get sentenced there in the first place. They raped, tortured, and slaughtered _hundreds_ of people, including _children_, and they pay _fines_ and walk away just to do it again!"

From what Rachel was gathering from the conversation, she didn't marry a _super_, she married a _soldier_. He may have all the makings of a super, but heroes didn't kill. '_Then again, supers don't usually face people that would do those kinds of things_,' she thought to herself. World domination was one thing, but some of the acts he was talking about just made her feel sick. Finally she voiced the question on her mind. "Why do they do that?"

Harry tuned to her, his eyes burning with intensity. "What? Rape, torture, and slaughter?" At Rachel's nod, Harry sighed and replied dully, "Same reason Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish people. They all see anyone that isn't a pureblood with a pedigree as less than animals. It's _entertainment_ for them."

Rachel's face became tinted with a rather unfetching shade of green at that. Finally she questioned, "Entertainment?"

Harry sighed sadly and nodded, before saying, "Believe me, it's unpleasant to see the aftereffects of one of their 'revels', let alone what happens during."

Rachel was about to speak when her communicator beeped, indicating a call. She sighed and looked at Harry, saying, "I need to get that." Before he could answer, she stood and walked into another room, avoiding the bedroom containing the magical feline of doom, and answered the communicator with, "What is it?"

* * *

"So what are you going to do, cub?" Remus asked curiously.

Harry sighed and ran his hand down his face before saying, "I don't know. It seems like whatever obligations she has here are pretty important to her. At the same time, I can't just walk away from things in England, either. And that's not even taking school into account."

Remus nodded and replied, "That is a problem. You'll be in a boarding school nine months out of the year, and that isn't going to help things." He looked at Harry curiously for a moment before adding, "You really want this to work, don't you?"

Harry nodded and said, "Yeah, I do." After a moment he continued, "Every time my instincts tell me to do something, it almost always ends up being good for me."

"And your instincts are telling you..?" Remus trailed off, waiting for Harry to pick it up.

There was a long moment where Remus thought that Harry wasn't going to answer, but he finally did. "They're telling me that I need to do everything I can to stay here, at the very least until school starts. I think I may have to talk to Dumbledore about being able to come back to the States during the weekends." He looked up at Remus and asked with a hint of desperation, "Surely there's some precedence for allowing a married student to visit their spouse on weekends or something, right?"

Remus sighed and shrugged, answering, "I honestly don't know, cub. I've never been privy to such a situation coming up."

Harry nodded absently, lost in thought. Finally he said, "I need to talk to Dumbledore about my options. If it comes down to it, I've already taken my O.W.L.'s and as Lord Potter, I'm emancipated, so I don't actually _have_ to go back to Hogwarts."

Remus stared at Harry in shock for a moment before he eventually said, "You're serious, aren't you?" At Harry's grin, Remus rolled his eyes and continued, "Just answer the question."

Harry nodded and replied, "If it comes down to it, it's a decision between staying in a place where I'm the hero one week and the villain the next or trying to build something with the girl I'm going to spend the rest of my life with." He shrugged and concluded, "Not much of a choice, really. Besides, I'm sick and tired of the fickle nature of the entire magical world. I doubt I'm going to stick around after Voldemort is dealt with."

Remus just sighed and nodded at the logic. While he may not necessarily _agree_ with his approximation of Hogwarts, he knew he had only heard about a few of the things that had happened over Harry's time at the school, and Remus knew that he himself had a bit of a blind spot for Hogwarts as well. "And what will you do about Voldemort?"

Harry absently spun the wedding ring on his finger as he said, "He's not going to stop until he kills me, and he _will_ hunt me down no matter where I go, and while I know it's idiotic to an extreme to hunt him, we both know that I'm too stubborn to really run away." He snorted and muttered, "Stubborn, noble, stupid, take your pick." He sighed and continued, "He won't allow his followers to interfere, because his ego won't handle anyone else doing the job for him, because he thinks it makes him look weak."

He focused on Remus and spoke louder, "I think a part me, deep down, always knew it was going to come down to him or me, ever since I first learned about him there in the hut on the sea. I'm living proof of his one true, visible failure, and he can't live with that failure hanging over his head, or walking around, as it were. Eventually, everything will come to a head and there won't be any more delaying or plotting from either of us." Harry's eyes hardened and his tone was much colder as he finished, "And then one of us _will_ die."

Remus shook his head and replied, "It shouldn't be up to you to take care of him, cub."

Harry snorted humorlessly and retorted, "Then who's going to stand against him in my stead? Dumbledore?" Harry snorted again and continued, "Dumbledore doesn't _believe_ he can beat Tom, so he _can't_ beat Tom. He and Tom both have the same failing."

"Tom?" Remus queried. "And what failing is that?"

Harry's lip twitched in amusement and he replied, "Tom Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort's real name." He further proved his point by successfully repeating the same trick a young Riddle had shown him down in the Chamber in Harry's second year. After Remus had a chance to absorb that information, Harry continued, "And the failing that both he and Dumbledore share, is the fact that they both put _far_ too much faith in prophecy."

Harry knew it the moment the full implications of that statement hit Remus. The werewolf's eyes widened to the point that Harry thought they might fall out of his head and he muttered, "You can't be serious."

For once, Harry didn't even try to make the usual joke about that statement, instead simply smiling sadly and responding, "I wish I wasn't."

* * *

"Say that again?" Rachel said in disbelief. "I'm not quite sure I caught that."

"Metallo is on his way to Las Vegas. It seems he heard about Donna's possible connection to Wonder Woman, and came up with some kind of plan that involves taking her out to get at the Justice League," Robin repeated, his voice hurried. "Starfire and I are on our way there to assist, but we need you to find Donna before Metallo does and keep eyes on her, just in case Metallo gets there before we do."

Rachel sighed and muttered under her breath, before sighing and replying, "Understood. Give me a few to get away and I'll check in once I find Donna." She turned off her communicator after receiving confirmation and sighed tiredly. Now she just needed to make sure Harry didn't interfere, as she suspected that he wouldn't just stand by and let someone like Metallo run around unopposed. She was slightly surprised to find herself hesitant to let Harry put himself in danger, especially against a Justice League-level threat.

She sighed again and walked back in to the living room, absently noting the tension and worry in Remus and the overly somber mood. She laid a hand on Harry's shoulder to get his attention and when she did, she said, "I have to go out for a bit. Will you promise to stay here until I get back?"

Seeing the rather intense look his wife was giving him, Hermione's words about trusting her echoed in his mind. After a moment he nodded and replied, "You know I'm going to want to know what's going on when you get back." He grinned and added, "My curiosity simply won't allow me to rest until I find out."

Rachel narrowed her eyes and replied dryly, "They say curiosity killed the cat, you know."

Harry's grin widened considerably as he shot back, "And you should know that the rest of that saying is '_But satisfaction brought it back_'."

Rachel sighed in exasperation and muttered under her breath before saying, "Just don't forget your promise, because if you break it..." She trailed off, giving him a look that promised pain. At Harry's nod, she sighed and said, "Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, she walked out of the suite, shutting the door behind her with a soft click.

* * *

Harry sighed heavily as he cycled through the channels on the rather large television in the suite for the fifth time. It had been hours since Rachel had gone out to do whatever it was she needed to do, and Remus had to go back to their original hotel and pack up everything. While that didn't take long, he also needed to get in touch with Dumbledore and let him know what was going on and that Harry needed to discuss some things with him.

Finally settling on an action movie to pass the time (and maybe get some tips for fighting Death Eaters), he dozed in and out on the couch, jumping awake at the sound of a nearby explosion that definitely wasn't on the screen. He walked over to the window and looked out, only to be shocked at what he saw.

A man, who looked to be either dressed in some kind of strange silver outfit with green trim, or was completely metal, but at this distance it was a bit difficult to tell. He watched for a moment as three people in rather strange costumes attempted to stop him, but were thoroughly rebuffed. The real shocker was that two of the strange defenders were _flying_. No brooms or anything, simply flying under their own power. One of the two in the air was firing some kind of energy blasts while the other was using some type of energy to pick up and throw various debris at the metal figure, but none of them seemed to have much effect, while the one on the ground was engaging in hand-to-hand peppered with gadgets he was pulling from a belt around his waist.

Harry looked down at the destruction the metal man was causing. The three costumed people opposing him were trying their best, he'd definitely give them that, but they were starting to tire, and it was showing. They were starting to get steamrolled.

The metal man somehow grew or sprouted a shoulder-mounted cannon, and used it to return fire at the figures flitting around above him, hitting the red-haired one and sending her crashing into a building at extremely high speeds, and grazing the cloaked figure, sending her spinning to the ground and crashing rather roughly behind a tipped auto.

He hesitated for a split second, reminded of his promise to his wife and her promise of pain if he left before she got back, but he simply couldn't allow whomever that was to continue destroying the city. '_Besides, I have to have faith that my wife wouldn't _really_ hurt me_', he thought to himself as he apparated down to street level.

'..._Would she?_'

* * *

Thing's weren't going well for the newly formed Titans. Individually, they were powerful, but one-on-one, Metallo was just stronger. While that shouldn't be an issue for a team of superheroes, the Titans had only just started working together, and they tried, they really did, but they were each so used to working alone that their attempts at working together were clumsy at best.

Rachel groaned in pain as she sat up and leaned back against the tipped vehicle to catch her breath. A sudden _pop_ right next to her startled her and she turned, instinctively summoning her power to defend herself, only to freeze at the sight of a grinning Harry.

"What are you doing here?!" She hissed at him, scowling.

Harry tilted his head slightly and replied, "Helping, if I can." He peeked around the edge of the car to keep an eye on what was happening and continued, "It looked like you lot were starting to get steamrolled." He ducked back behind cover and just barely avoided a stray blast of energy from Metallo's new shoulder-cannon. "So what can you tell me about this bloke?"

"Metallo," Rachel responded. "His name is Metallo. He's a cyborg and rather intent on destroying Superman, by any means."

Harry looked confused and asked, "Cyborg?" He shook his head and continued, "I'm not really familiar with that term."

Rachel rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath before clarifying, "Human mind, robot body."

Harry's eyes widened at that. "Really? That's kinda cool." He thought for a moment before asking, "So if he has a robot body, what's powering it?"

"He's powered by a chunk of Kryptonite in his chest," Rachel replied flatly.

Harry furrowed his brow and queried, "That's it?" At Rachel's nod, he asked, "What does this Kryptonite stuff look like?"

"It's a bright, glowing green rock about the size of your fist," Rachel answered, confusion written on her face. He had never even heard of Kryptonite before? What kind of vacuum had he lived in before coming to Vegas?

Harry looked confused as he asked, "Really?" At Rachel's nod, he snorted and shook his head, saying, "Well this is going to be easy." He stood swiftly and moved out from behind his cover, missing Rachel trying to grab his arm and pull him back behind the tipped over car. Harry took a deep breath and bellowed, "Oi! Rust Bucket!"

The cyborg turned to face Harry, still holding Robin up nearly a foot off the ground by his throat. Metallo grinned wickedly and replied loudly, "Come to see your friend die?"

Harry barked out a Sirius-like laugh and yelled back, "I don't even know the guy!" He shrugged unconcernedly and continued, "I just have a quick question for you and then you can go back about your business."

Rachel just stared at Harry with wide eyes. He wasn't going to help? Was he really that callous? Part of her was hurt at his apparent disregard for the lives of her teammates, and the other part of her was angry, both at herself for so severely misjudging him and at him for being such an utterly uncaring bastard.

Starfire, from where she was trapped under the rubble of the wall that had fallen on her, could only hear the conversation, and was rather disappointed at Rachel's chosen mate. She had recognized the voice from when Robin was putting together the video from last night for Rachel, and she had hoped that the young Azarathian had found someone who was good and kind, someone who would help her break out of the impenetrable shell the dark-haired teen had built around herself. She sighed as she realized that this was not possible now and began shifting the rubble trapping her with renewed vigor.

Robin, for his part, was utterly flabbergasted. Rachel's new _husband_ was just going to ask a question and then let Robin be killed by Metallo? If he somehow managed to get out of this, he was going to punch that little bastard right in the face.

"Oh? I suppose I have the time to answer a question," Metallo responded magnanimously. He loosened his grip just slightly on Robin's throat, just enough that he wouldn't die, yet at least.

Harry's grin widened and he asked, "Do you know what the word of the day is, Metallo?"

The cyborg looked confused for a moment before replying slowly, "No, what's the word of the day?"

"The word of the day," Harry began as he raised his wand and pointed it directly at Metallo's chest. His grin took on a rather wicked glint as he finished, "Is _accio_."

* * *

After Lex Luthor had ripped the chunk of Kryptonite out of his chest after his first defeat at Superman's hands, Metallo had taken steps to ensure that something like that never happened again. The chunk of Kryptonite was shielded behind a metal plate, and locked down with magnetic clamps. Along with all of the other security features he had installed to keep his 'heart' in place, it was likely the most technologically protected part of his body.

But as we all know, Magic routinely makes a mockery of technology.

Rachel, who had decided to use her worthless husband as a distraction, had managed to circle around and flank Metallo. She took a breath and summoned up her power, preparing to blast the metal bastard into pieces. Before she could, however, the chunk of Kryptonite that powered Metallo's body violently ripped its way out of his chest cavity and flew at a high speed towards Harry, who deftly snatched the radioactive rock out of the air with his other hand.

Her jaw was slack in shock as she stared at the scene. One simple spell, one tiny five-letter word, and Metallo was down for the count, falling to his hands and knees as he attempted to conserve as much power as he could to survive.

"Accio?" Starfire muttered to herself, still shifting debris. "What does that mean?"

From Robin's point of view, one second he was being held up by the throat, slowly suffocating, his vision going gray and black around the edges, and the next, he was lying on the ground on his side, gasping for air and coughing heavily in between each one.

He quickly regained his bearings and looked around to see Metallo on his hands and knees with a hole in his chest plate just slightly bigger than the chunk of meteor rock that acted as the cyborg's heart and power source. After a moment longer, Metallo tipped over and crashed to the ground, twitching as he tried to keep his body going on whatever reserves he had.

The chunk of Kryptonite flew at Harry, who instinctively reached out and snatched it out of the air. The moment it hit his palm, he felt a sharp pain in his hand and a tingling spread up his arm and into his chest. It wasn't really painful in the slightest, just annoying. He opened his hand to see that the impact from the rock had cut his palm open, but it wasn't bleeding much, so Harry just shrugged and gave the chunk of rock in his hand a closer inspection.

Glowing and green were definitely two accurate words to describe it. In fact, it almost reminded him of a green Philosopher's Stone. Other than that, it was just a hunk of rock as far as he could tell, but he'd take a closer look later. Harry turned it over in his hands a for a bit longer before shrugging and slipping it into his pocket.

Starfire had finally freed herself from the rubble she was under and flew to her teammates, asking as she landed, "What has transpired here?"

"Raven's husband somehow took out Metallo," Robin answered. He turned to the cloaked teen and asked, "How did he do that, anyway?"

"First, he doesn't know that _I'm_ his wife. As far as he knows, he married Rachel," She replied dryly. "So don't tell him. Secondly, he used magic. I'm unfamiliar with the style, however, so I couldn't tell you the specifics."

"You know you might have to tell him eventually," Robin replied. "It's not something that you can keep from him forever."

Starfire nodded and added, "Besides, it is wrong to keep secrets from your mate."

Rachel glared at the two and said, "I will tell him when I am ready to, and not before." She noticed Harry approaching from where he had been standing and muttered to the other two, "Not another word about it."

Harry stopped a few steps away from the group, keeping them all in front of him, and looked at Robin, asking, "You alright, mate?"

Starfire looked confused and asked, "Mate? But-"

"_Starfire_!" Rachel hissed at the Tamaranean, causing a nearby window to crack. She wrested her emotions back under control and said flatly, "He doesn't mean it the way you're taking it. Mate is a British slang word for a male."

Harry looked at the red-haired, _orange_-skinned girl oddly before shrugging slightly and looking back at Robin, who nodded and replied, "Yeah, but next time, try not to let us think you're going to let someone kill us." The masked teen smirked and added, "I was about ready to punch you for that."

Harry barked out a short laugh and said, "Sorry about that. Didn't know what that Kryptonite stuff really looked like and I needed him to keep still for a minute so I could focus. The problem with that charm is you either need to have a _very_ clear picture of what your summoning or the power to make up for it." He nudged the still spasming Metallo with his foot and asked, "So what's going to happen to the tin can, here?"

"Prison," Rachel responded succinctly.

Harry nodded and sighed, saying, "Well then, I'll leave that bit in your hands." He ran his fingers through his hair and continued, "I need to go find my wife and make sure she's alright."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Harry and spit venomously, "You don't think she can take care of herself?"

Harry pinned her with a glare of the same caliber as her own and replied, "I don't know about where _your_ from, poppet, but where _I'm_ from, we like to check on the people close to us after something like this happens to see with our own eyes that they're still alive and relatively unhurt, regardless of their capabilities. Peace of mind, and all that."

The two glared at each other for a moment before Rachel said, "You shouldn't have been down here in the first place. You're a civilian."

Harry arched an eyebrow in response and retorted, "So I should have run away and let you all be steamrolled?"

Rachel lost her temper for a moment and the window that she had cracked a few moments before exploded violently. "You should have stayed in the room like you promised!" Rachel immediately spit out. Harry narrowed his eyes at her and her words finally registered in her mind. She really shouldn't have lost her temper like that, and now there was only one thing left to say at that point.

"Well, fuck."


End file.
